Automatic cap gun mechanism



Jan. 3, 1956 K. w. FRYE 2,729,011

AUTOMATIC CAP GUN MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27. 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1KENNETH W. FRYE,

INVENTOR H UEBNER, BEEHLER, WORREL 9 HERZIG,

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 3, 1956 K. w. FRYE AUTOMATIC CAP GUN MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1954I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 R6 wu a m HRH m EE UN W H 0 3 Q m BEN Ill L H a T L v.E N BM QKR mm; W0 K HW Jan. 3, 1956 Filed Sept. 27, 1954 K. W. FRYEAUTOMATIC CAP GUN MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 KENNETH W. FRYE,

INVENTOR HUEBNER, BEEHLER,

WORREL 9 HERZIG,

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent AUTOMATIC CAP GUN MECHANISM Kenneth W. Frye, LosAngeles, Calif.

Application September 27, 1954, Serial No. 458,524

4 Claims. (Cl. 42-57) The present invention relates to an automatic capfiring mechanism and particularly to an automatic cap gun mechanism.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic capfiring mechanism capable of efficiently and accurately firing rolls orstrips of explosive caps.

Another object is to provide an automatic cap gun of efficient andeconomic design for mass production.

A further object is to provide an automatic cap gun capable ofaccurately and continuously firing explosive caps in rolls or strips. I

An additional object is to provide a safe toy automatic cap gun capableof firing explosive caps in rapid succession.

Additional objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description.

Broadly stated, the present invention is directed to an automatic capfiring mechanism comprising an anvil, a hammer operatively associatedwith'the anvil, means for continuously feeding caps to the anvil, andautomatic means for continuously striking the hammer against the caps onthe anvil.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, perforated caps from a rollor strip are fed continuously onto an anvil provided with spaced spikes.The anvil prefer ably is rotatably mounted and cylindrical in shape withthe spikes spaced circumferentially on the surface of the anvil.Associated with anvil is a hold-down arm adapted to hold the caps, asthey are fed to the anvil, against the surface of the anvil forengagement by the spikes. The anvil preferably is provided with aratchet fixed thereto for rotation therewith. Operatively associatedwith theratchet is a pawl pivotally connected to a hammer. The hammerpreferably is pivotally mounted adjacent the anvil and is coordinatedwith the anvil to strike and fire caps continuously as they are fed ontothe anvil. Preferably connected to the hammer is a lever which'projectstoward a power driven wheel. The wheel preferably is driven by a spiralpower spring and preferably is provided .with projections or pinscircumferentially spaced thereon.

In operation of this embodiment, a pin engages the lever of the hammerand urges it into a cocked position. When cooked, the pin automaticallydisengages the lever and the hammer is struck sharply against the capexplosive charge adjacent the hammer on the anvel. The hammer can bestruck by the force of a tension spring. The next pin in line on thegearwheel engages the lever of the hammer and urges it back into cockedposition. The hammer again is disengaged and struck against the cap, andthe cycle is repeated continuously. The resulting reciprocating movementof the hammer actuates the pawl connected thereto. The pawl, in turn,actuates the ratchet and the ratchet rotates the anvil to bring a freshcap charge into position to be fired. A trigger preferably is associatedwith the hammer mechanism for action.

2,729,011 Patented Jan. 3, 1956 ice A more detailed description of aspecific embodiment of the invention is described below with referenceto the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is an isometric side view showing the assembled specificembodiment of the automatic cap firing gun;

Figure 2 is a side elevational View, with portions broken away, showinga specific embodiment of the mechanism of the automatic cap gun;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view with portions broken away, taken online 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2,showing the hammer and trigger mechanism;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2,showing the spiral power spring and main gear wheel;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Figure 2,showing the anvil ratchet and pawl, and the cap holddown arms;

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view showing the hammer, hammer leverand pawl assembly;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Figure 2,showing the'cap roll mounting and centering arrangement;

Figure 9 is a detail perspective view showing the gunmechanism housing;

Figure 10 also is a detail perspective view showing half of the gunbarrel and the cap roll mounting means; and

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the cap chamber cover showing thehold-down arm and the cap roll centering shoulder.

The power source in the illustrated specific embodiment of the capfiring mechanism is a tensioned spiral power spring of the type found inspring clock mechanisms. The outer end of the spiral power spring 1, asbest shown in Figure 5, is connected to the bottom of the mechanismhousing 11, as at 2. The inner end of the power spring 1 is connected toaxle 3 as indicated at 4. A winding knob 5 and a ratchet 6 also areconnected to axle 3. Turningknob 5 in a clockwise direction winds upspring 1. The spring 1 under tension drives the main gear wheel 13 bythe transfer of energy thereto through ratchet 6 engaging gear wheel 13at holes 7 by fingers 8. A series of pins 14 is fixed to the main gearwheel 13 at equally spaced intervals on the circumference of a circleadjacent the circumference of the gear wheel.

The pins 14 are adapted to engage, during rotation of the gear wheel 13,the lever 16 fixed to the base of the hammer 17. The hammer 17 and thelever 16 are at approximately right-angles to each other, and are fixedto an axle 18, as best shown in Figure 7. When lever 16 is engaged by apin 14, and urged downwardly, the hammer 17 is urged in a clockwisedirection a distance corresponding to that through which lever 16 moves,and is thereby cocked for firing.

Mounted on the hammer 17, on a pivot 22, about midway between the upperend of the hammer and the axle 18 is a pawl 21. When the hammer is movedin a clockwise direction, the pawl 21 engages a tooth 10 of the ratchet23, and turns the ratchet and an anvil 19 to which the ratchet 23 isfixed, through a predetermined arc. This arc is predetermined tocorrespond to the dis tance between explosive charges on a strip or rollof caps 9 by properly dimensioning the distance between pins 14, thelength of lever 16, the length of hammer 17, the

length of pawl 21, and the distance between teeth 10 on the ratchet 23.

A torsion spring 24 (Figures 2, 3, and 4) is provided on one side ofaxle 18 having one end thereof fixed to a side of case 11 in an ear 26;The other end of the spring 24, under torsion, is lodged against theside of I the hammer 17 on pin 27 (Figure 4). As one of the pins 14depresses the lever 16, the spring 24 is additionally loaded while thehammer 17 is cocked, that is, drawn away from the anvil 19. When the pin14 slips off the end of lever 16, the torsion in spring 24 causes thehammer 17 to strike sharply against the anvil 19. By properly designingthe spring 24, the blow of the hammer is sufiicient to set off anexplosive cap charge positioned between the hammer 17 and the anvil 19.

A torsion spring 28 is mounted on the pin 27 between the pawl 21 and thehammer 17. One end of the spring 28 is fixed in the side of the pawl 21on car 29 and the other end is brought to bear under torsion against theaxle 18 (Figure 4). The spring 28 is adapted to lightly force pawl 21downward on the ratchet 23 so that in its forward movement it will slideover a long side of a tooth 16 of the ratchet, and will drop down intoengagement with a short side 32 of a ratchet tooth.

The caps 33, for use in this specific embodiment of the invention, areprovided with perforations 34 at intervals spaced midway between theexplosive charge 35, also provided on the cap roll or strip at equallyspaced intervals. In loading the gun mechanism, the end perforation ofthe cap strip 34 is slipped over a spike 36 on anvil 19 and the cap roll9 is mounted on a pin 40. When the anvil is rotated by the action ofpawl 21, the spike 36 moves between the bifurcated hold-down arm 37(Figures 6 and 11). The clockwise movement of the spike 36 wraps thestrip of caps around the anvil 19 and advances the first explosivecharge 35 to the position at which the hammer 17 strikes against theanvil.

The striking of the hammer 17 on the explosive charge 35 in the capproduces a loud detonation and products of combustion, such as smoke andfumes. The cap is generally blown in two by the explosion, however someportions thereof often remain attached to the surface of the anvil 19.As the anvil is rotated by the action of the pawl 21 on the ratchet 23,as previously described a new explosive charge is brought into positionfor firing by the action of spikes 36 in perforations 35 of the caps.The hold-down arm 37 by pressing the caps against the anvil assure theengagement of fresh caps at all times by the action of spikes 36 inperforations 35. Any remnants of exploded caps sticking to anvil 19, arescraped therefrom by stripper 38 as the anvil is rotated past the bladesof the stripper (Figure 2).

The structure and operation of stripper 38 is best seen by referring toFigures 2, 3, 6 and 9. The stripper 38 is provided with a central notch39 adapted to clear the pins 36 during rotation thereof. A largernotched portion 41 (Figure 9) is provided on the stripper 38 to stripcap remnants from the cylindrical surface of the anvil 19. Two sideportions 42 of the stripper 38 overhang the edges of the anvil 19, andaid in the stripping action. The clearance between the cylindricalsurface or" the anvil 19, and the edges of the notch 41 of the stripper38 is made sufliciently small so that any portions of exploded capsadhering to the surface or edges of the anvil 19 are scraped cleanlytherefrom and dropped into receiver 43, as indicated by the downwardmovement of stripped cap portion 44.

The trigger 46 is pivotally mounted on an axle 47 to which also is fixedan elongated hook 48. The angle between the trigger 46 and the arm ofthe hook 48 is chosen so that when the trigger extends downward into amiddle portion of the trigger guard 49 (Figure 1), the hook 48 extendsupward at an angle into the housing 11, as shown in Figure 2.

The hook 48 is adapted to cooperate with a hook 50 on the inner end oflever 16 to engage the latter as shown in Figure 2. When the hook 48 isin engagement with the book 50, the downward movement of lever 16,produced by the action of a pin 14, is positively halted and the firingaction is stopped or prevented.

A torsion spring 51, mounted on axle 47, has oneend area: to an car 52-forrned in the side of housing 11, and

another end under torsion bears against a pin 53 formed on the side ofhook 48. Spring 51 normally urges hook 48 upward into engagement withthe hook 5%) to prevent firing. When the trigger 46 is manually forcedin a counter-clockwise direction against the tension of spring 51, hook48 is slipped out of engagement with the hook 50 and the firing actionis commenced.

After a burst of fire has taken place the action quickly can be stoppedby releasing the pressure on trigger 46, thus permitting the tension inspring 51 to force hook 48 upward into engagement with hook 50. In thusstopping the firing action pin 14 on gear wheel 13 comes into contactwith lever 16 thus forcing lever 16 in a clockwise direction around axle18 and forcing hammer 17 away from anvil 19 as shown in Figure 2. Thisaction on trigger 46, lever 16 and hammer 17 is resisted by torsionsprings 51, 24, and 28. The initial action of these springs on lever 16cushions the stopping action and avoids a sudden shock-stop. It will beseen that at the instant hook 48 engages hook 50, the action of pin 14against lever 16 is resisted by the reaction of the torsion springs. Byvirtue of this cushion-stop action, pins 14, gear wheel 13, hook 48 andlever 16 can be made of lighter material than otherwise without thedanger of breakage or failure of the mechanism.

A fresh roll or strip of caps is readily charged to the magazine inhousing 11 by raising cover 55 hingedly mounted on housing 11 at 56(Figures 2, 9 and 11). Pin 40 on centering shoulder 60 then is readilyaccessible for mounting a roll of caps thereon. After the endperforation 34 of the roll of caps is engaged by spike 36 of the anvil19, the anvil can conveniently be turned in a clockwise direction tocause the caps to pass under the hold-down arm 37, because of thefree-play in the ratchet and pawl arrangement. The chamber cover 55 islowered and snapped into position thus bringing down the cap rollcentering shoulder 58 (Figure 8) which can be formed in the chamber lid55, as shown in Figure 11. The hold-down arm 37 also conveniently can beformed on chamber lid 55 to thus disengage and engage the caps inopening and closing the lid.

Anvil I9 is rotatably mounted on axle 59, and is prevented fromoverriding itself by a helical compression spring 61, also mounted onaxle 59, and caused to bear under compression, against a side of chamber11 and anvil 19. Thus the spring 61 acts to apply a friction brake, tothe anvil so that the anvil is at all times positively driven by theaction of pawl 21 on ratchet 23. The ratchet 23 also is fixedly mountedon axle 59 and anvil 19 to rotate with the anvil.

It will be seen that spikes 36 (Figures 2, 3 and 6) are tapered. Thepurpose of this design is two-fold. Irregularities in the spacing of theperforations 34 in the cap strip 33 are compensated for by the taperedspikes, and more certain engagement of these perforations by the spikesis assured. Secondly, during high-speed operation, any tendency of theanvil to slightly override itself is corrected by the blows of hammer 17against the tapered sides of spikes 36, and a realignment of anvil 19and hammer 17 is efiected. It will be observed that the top and bottomsurfaces of the hammer head are tapered to assist in this realignmentaction. Also, the face of hammer 17 is curved and of suflicient area tosubstantially coincide with the curvature and area of the cylindricalsurface of anvil 19 between two adjacent spikes for even andsubstantially' complete contact between these surfaces. This arrangementguards against misfiring during the rapid, automatic firing of the gun.

Main gear 13 is meshed with a pinion gear 62 rotatably mounted on anaxle 63. Gear wheel 64 also is rotatably mounted on axle 63, and in turnis meshed with pinion gear 66. Pinion gear 66 and a governor 67 both arerotatably mounted on axle 68. Axles 63 and 68 are mounted in the side ofchamber 11 and in a bracket 69, which in turn is riveted or bolted tothe side of chamber 11 at 71. The governor 67 serves to level out thespeed of rotation of main gear Wheel 13 to thus reduce the differentialin speed thereof between the times when power spring 1 is fully woundand almost completely unwound.

The spiral power spring 1 is wound by means of knob 5. To wind the powerspring 1, a safety lever 73 is set over the end of axle 68 whichprojects beyond the outer surface of chamber 11. The safety lever 73bears tightly against the end of axle 68 and holdsthe gear trainconsisting of pinion 66, gear wheel 64, pinion 62 and gear wheel 14stationary during the winding operation. The winding operation consistsof manually turning in a clockwise direction, knob 5. By thus fixedlyholding the gear train, partial unwinding'of the power spring 1 isprevented by guarding against the turning of gear wheel 13 until a pin14 displaces lever 16 as described previously in connection with thediscussion of the cushioning action on gear wheel 13 when firing actionis stopped. By thus fixing the gear train against such cushioning actionand slack movement, winding of the main power spring is greatlyfacilitated.

The cap firing mechanism is housed in chamber 11 by mounting themechanism onto one side of the chamber. As shown in Figure 9, thechamber 11 is made of two halfportions. The main power spring andassociated geartrain is mounted on the inside wall of one chamber 11portion, with axles 63 and 66 journaled in the side of bracket 69 andthe side of the chamber portion, and with axle 3 journaled in the sideof the chamber portion. The knob is mounted on the end of axle 3 inconventional manner and axles 18, 47 and 59, carrying hammer 17, trigger46 and anvil 19, are journaled in the side of the chamber portion. Thesethree axles also are journaled in the other half chamber 11 portionwhich is fitted over the firstmentioned chamber half-portion. The twochamber halfportions are bolted or riveted together at 76.

The stock 77 and the grip 78 can be made of wood, plastic, compoundrubber, or any other desirable material.- These are bolted to thechamber 11 by means of bolts at 79 and 81. Similarly, the barrel 82,which can be made hollow or solid, and the handgrip 83 can be made ofwood, plastic or any desired material, and are bolted to the front endof chamber 11 at 84 by bolts passing through guides 86. The barrel 82can be of one piece or two halves bolted together by bolts passingthrough guides 87. Cap roll mounting pin 40 and centering shoulder 60are formed on the rear end of the barrel 83. a

In the above description, a specific embodiment of the automatic cap gunof the invention has been described in connection with the use of rollsor strips of perforated caps. It will be understood that the gun ormechanism of the invention will operate on ordinary rolls ofunperforated caps. In such case, the anvil 19 is replaced by an anvilwithout spikes 36. The hold-down arm 37 can then be replaced by afriction roller, such as a rubber pressure roller driven by a ratchetand pawl, or other suitable drive mechanism, to engage and feed the rollor strip of caps onto the anvil and into the zone struck by the hammer.Other variations in the design of the automatic cap firing mechanism,and modifications in the details thereof will occur to one skilled inthe art. It is, therefore, understood that the foregoing description isexplanatory only, and given to specifically illustrate a particularembodiment of the invention.

Accordingly, although a specific embodiment of the invention has beendescribed above, it will be understood that such changes andmodifications in the design, structure, and details of the illustratedcap firing mechanism and gun may be made within the scope of theappended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic cap gun a cap firing mechanism comprising a pivotallymounted hammer, a generally cylindrical anvil mounted for axial rotationwith its circumferential surface Within striking distance of the hammer,tension means associated with the hammer for continuously urging thehammer toward the anvil with striking force, power means including anelement for periodically retracting the hammer from the anvil againstthe tension means and periodically releasing the tensioned hammer forstriking the anvil, ratchet and pawl means mounted on the anvil andhammer, respectively, for rotating said anvil 'upon retracting movementof said hammer, said anvil constituting means for feeding a strip ofcaps into position for consecutive firing of the units in the strip bythe periodic striking action of the hammer, said hammer having anextension engageable by said element of said power means for retractingsaid hammer, said extension having a shoulder thereon, and a pivotedtrigger having means arranged to releasably engage said shoulder andnormally hold said hammer against the retracting action of said powermeans.

2. In an automatic cap gun a cap firing mechanism comprising a pivotallymounted hammer, a generally cylindrical anvil mounted for axial rotationwith its circumferential surface within striking distance of the hammer,tension means associated with the hammer for continuously urging thehammer toward the anvil with striking force, motor means including anelement for periodically retracting the hammer from the anvil againstthe tension means and periodically releasing the tensioned hammer forperiodically striking the circumferential surface of the anvil, ratchetmeans mounted on the anvil for rotation therewith, pawl means mounted onthe hammer for movement therewith and for cooperation with the ratchetmeans for rotating the anvil upon retracting movement of said hammer,said anvil constituting means for feeding a strip of caps past saidhammer, pressure means pressing toward the circumferential cylindricalsurface of the anvil for engaging and pressing a strip of caps onto thecircumferential surface of the rotating anvil for insuring feeding ofthe strip upon rotation of the anvil, stripping means adjacent thecircumferential surface of the anvil adapted to peel remains of firedcaps therefrom, said hammer having an extension engageable by saidelement of said motor means for retracting said hammer, said extensionhaving a shoulder thereon, and a pivoted trigger having means arrangedto releasably engage said shoulder and normally hold said hammer againstthe retracting action of said motor means.

3. Cap firing mechanism comprising a generally cylindrical anvilrotatable about its axis, projections fixed in spaced relationship tothe circumferential surface of the anvil adapted for engaging a strip ofperforated caps, presser means conforming to the periphery of the anvilarranged to engage a strip of caps radially outwardly of said anvil andpress the same radially against the anvil laterally of said projectionsfor guiding the perforations of the caps onto the projections as a stripof caps is fed onto the anvil during rotation thereof, a pivotallymounted hammer operatively associated with the anvil for continuouslystriking and discharging powder charges on the caps on the anvil betweenthe anvil projections, stripper means associated with the anvil forcontinuously stripping remnants of discharged caps from the anvil,ratchet and pawl means associated with the hammer and anvil forsynchronizing the movement thereof, and power means for intermittentlystriking the hammer against the caps on the anvil.

4. In an automatic cap gun a cap firing mechanism comprising a generallycylindrical anvil rotatable about its axis, pins fixed in spacedrelationship to the circumferential surface of the anvil adapted forengaging a strip of perforated caps having explosive charges between theperforations, presser means conforming to the periphery of the anvilarranged to engage a strip of caps radially outwardly of said anvil andpress the same radially against the anvil laterally of said projectionsfor guiding the perforations of the caps around the pins as the caps arefed continuously onto the anvil during rotation thereof, a pivotallymounted hammer operatively associated retracting said hammer, saidextension'having a shoulder 10 thereon, and a pivoted trigger havingmeans arranged to releasably engage said shoulder and normally hold saidhammer against the retracting action of said power means.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTSNeuhaus Mar. 28, 1893 Smith et a1. July 31, 1894 Peake Sept. 12, 1933Rickenbacher June 23, 1936 Milne May 16, 1950 Anderson n Oct. 2, 1951

